National Cryptologic Museum
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The United States National Cryptologic Museum is a museum of cryptologic history, affiliated with the National Security Agency (NSA). Located in a former motel two blocks from the NSA headquarters at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, the museum collection contains thousands of artifacts, including a working World War II German Enigma machine and a bombe used to break it. It also houses displays that discuss the history of American cryptology and the people, machines, techniques, and locations concerned. An unclassified library is open week days part time.
Initially housing NSA artifacts for viewing by employees, the museum quickly developed into a collection of U.S. cryptologic history. The museum opened to the public on December 16, 1993.
The museum hosts about 50,000 visitors annually from all over the world, and gives tours for students and children that describe cryptology’s impact on history and jobs in the field.
Next to the museum is the National Vigilance Park, where three reconnaissance aircraft are on display. The U.S. Army Seminole RU-8D Reconnaissance Plane represents the Army Airborne Signals Intelligence contribution in the Vietnam War, and a Hercules C-130 transport, modified to look like a reconnaissance-configuration C-130A, memorializes a U.S. Air Force aircraft shot down over Soviet Armenia during the Cold War. Finally, the park contains a U.S. Navy Skywarrior EA-3B, commemorating a mission in the Mediterranean on January 25, 1987 in which all seven crew members died.
The museum and park are open to the public and admission is free.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Jack E. Ingram, Ensuring the Legacy: The Story of the National Cryptologic Museum, Studies in Intelligence, 47(3), 2003 [1]
- Jack E. Ingram, The National Cryptologic Museum: The First Ten Years — A Personal Story. Intelligencer 14(1) (Winter/Spring 2004), pp101–110.
- Louis Kruh, A Pictorial Tour of the National Cryptologic Museum, 18(4), October 1994, pp381–389.
[edit] External links
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- National Cryptologic Museum
- The National Cryptologic Museum Foundation
- A review of the museum
- A set of photos of the museum by Austin Mills
- 39°06′53″N 76°46′29″W / 39.1148°N 76.7748°WCoordinates: 39°06′53″N 76°46′29″W / 39.1148°N 76.7748°W
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